Volusion Live Chat Settings

Here are some handy features to help you make the most of Volusion's Live Chat feature!

Written by Alison Garrison Updated over a week ago

Note: This article covers functionality for a legacy feature that we no longer offer for new customers.

Find more information on individual Volusion Live Chat settings below. For general information on setting up your Volusion Live Chat, see Volusion Live Chat Integration.

Agent Settings

Enable real time chat when an agent is online (if enabled, Agents will be able to chat in real-time with visitors).

Each agent can manage up to [X] web visitors(select the maximum number of chats each Agent can handle at any given time).

Notify all online agents of each incoming chat(if selected, the first Agent to respond to an incoming chat "claims" the chat).

Automatically assign each incoming chat to a specific agent (if selected, the chat software automatically sends and assigns an incoming chat to an available Agent).

When waiting queue reaches [X] web visitors, set chat team status as unavailable (if enabled, Agents can set their chat availability to Offline if [X] visitors are waiting in the queue for an Agent).

Shortcuts

Add new shortcut (You can use Shortcuts to define keyboard shortcuts for canned messages that agents use often. Only Live Chat administrators can add and delete shortcuts. There is no limit on the number of shortcuts that can be added.)

Command (enter the text you want agents to type to send the shortcut message).

Message (Enter the text you want to appear when the Command is typed in the agent chat window. Messages can be up to 450 characters.)

Export/Import Icons [screenshot] (You can export the Command and Message fields to a CSV file. To import additional shortcuts, type the Command into column A and the Message into column B of a CSV file. Browse for the file and click the Import button.)

Integrations

Send requests by email (the chat software will automatically notify you at this email address each time a website visitors contacts you).

Send Images either [in the email body] or [as an attachment] (Select whether you want images to be sent in the email body or or as an attachment. By default, images are sent in the body of the email.)

Send chat transcript to destination (Select one of the following options: "Automatically send chat transcript", "Only send transcript when customer's email address is valid" or "Do not send chat transcript to destination").

Style

DESKTOP BROWSER

Select your language(the text in the chat window and on the chat buttons will display in the language you select).

Button Position (The chat buttons are dynamic and change between the Help button or the Chat button, depending on whether agents are online and ready for chats. Align to the [left/right/top/bottom] with an offset of [X] [%/pixels] from the top of the page).

[left/right/top/bottom] (select where you'd like the Live Chat button to appear on your storefront).

[X] (designate how far away from the top (or left) of the browser the button will float).

[%/pixels] (select whether you want the number to be measured in percentage or pixels).

Select your Floating Button images(Click Change Image to pick your Online or Offline chat button color. You can use your own custom image by clicking Use your own image and entering the image URL. The default chat buttons are 35 pixels by 73 pixels).

(Optional) Add an inline live chat button (The inline button code provides the same dynamic online/offline image functionality as the built-in floating button, but it gives you more control over the button's placement on your site. If you use an inline live chat button, the button does not have to float at the edge of your browser. To use inline chat buttons, simply click Copy to Clipboard to copy the code and paste it into your site's theme code wherever you'd like the inline button to appear.)

(Optional) Select your inline button images (As with the floating button, you can select from available Online or Offline chat buttons. You can use your own custom image by clicking Use your own image and entering the image URL.)

Select your chat box style (Click Change chat box to open the Choose a chat box dialog box. Select Unbranded or Brandable, depending on whether you plan on installing your own logo. You must select Brandable to install your own logo.)

Chat window position (Select a chat window position from the drop-down menu. This setting allows you to choose where the chat box will appear on your site when a visitor chats with an agent.)

PRE-CHAT FORM SETTINGS

Disable the Pre-Chat Form (If this setting is turned on, you can enter a message that will appear to visitors immediately after they open a chat with an agent. This allows visitors to skip the pre-chat form.)

First chat message (Enter the message that will appear to visitors immediately after they open a chat if the Disable the Pre-Chat Form setting is turned on. This field will only appear when Disable the Pre-Chat Form is turned on.)

Pre-Chat Form: Require Visitors to provide an email address(When this setting is turned on, visitors are required to enter their email address in the pre-chat form prior to chatting. Note that an email address is always required for offline requests. This setting is not available when the pre-chat form is disabled.)

Pre-Chat Form: Require Visitors to provide a message or question(When this setting is turned on, visitors are required to enter a pre-chat message/question. Note that a message/question is always required for offline requests. This setting is not available when the pre-chat form is disabled.)

Show "Email Us" button on the Pre-Chat form even when Agents are online (When this setting is turned on, an Email Us button will always be present on the pre-chat form, even when agents are online and available to chat. This setting is not available when the pre-chat form is disabled.)

Enable the lightbox background effect behind the Pre-Chat Form (when this setting is turned on, the pre-chat form will have a light gray background to drive visitors' focus to the chat window).

SITE SETTINGS

Enable chat session to continue across sub-domains of your site (When this setting is turned on, you can enter your site's domain. By providing your domain name, Live Chat will allow any chats to continue when switching between subdomains and your main domain.)

Encrypt chat communications using SSL(When this setting is turned on, all visitor chats are routed through HTTPS encryption. Note that there must be an SSL installed on your site.)

Show notifications to Agents when the Visitor browses or reloads pages on your site(when this setting is turned on, agents are informed when a visitor browses or refreshes pages on your site).

Allow Visitor screenshots for chat and offline requests (when this setting is turned on, and the visitor's web browser is supported, visitors can elect to send screenshots with their message/question).

Link URL (enter the URL of your feedback form/forum/discussion page where you want to send visitors).

Select Check "include a snapshot of the current page" by default to add a box at the bottom of the pre-chat/offline form that will send a screenshot of the visitor's page to the agent at the beginning of the chat.

Auto responder (Select Enable visitors to leave a message after waiting... to configure a "leave a message" note for visitors. Use the up and down arrows to configure amount of time that must pass (in seconds) before the auto-responder message will be sent to a visitor. In the Message field, enter the message you want to send to visitors. Note that you must include some text between square brackets [ ] in order to create a link where visitors can leave a message.)

Agent alerts (select Display message to agents when chat starts to enter a message that agents will see when a chat starts).

Agent links (Select Display links to agents when chat starts to configure Live Chat to send commonly-used URLs to agents at the start of each chat. Click add a new link to configure additional links.)

Web client transfer (select Enable web client users to transfer chats between widgets to allow agents to transfer chats to other agents in different widgets).

Collect additional information (Select Flash and Java versions to have Live Chat collect additional information about visitors' Flash and Java versions. Select JavaScript variables to enter variable names about which agents can collect additional information during the chat.)

Thank you note(Select Send an email to requester... to send a "thank you" message when a visitor leaves an offline request. The "thank you" message will say "Thank you for submitting a message to _____ widget" and will provide a copy of the message that the visitor submitted. The email will be sent from the address entered in the field.)

Extra security(these fields are not currently available for use).

Weekly stats email(If you would like to receive a weekly stats email, enter your email address in this field. Select Include the weekly log of chats and messages in the email to include the log of chats/messages in the weekly stats email.)

Proactive Chat

Enable proactive chat when a live chat agent is online (Check to enable proactive chat. This will automatically assigns incoming chats to the Agent with the least number of chats after a designated amount of time, which is specified below.)

Display message... (enter the initial message that you want to proactively appear to site visitors when they are on a specific page of your store for a designated amount of time).

...after [X] seconds... (enter the number of seconds that a customer remains on the page before a proactive chat is sent to the customer).

...[with sound notification/without sound]... (select whether you want the proactive chat to use a sound notification).

...on page URL matching(Enter the URL of the page on your site where you want proactive chat to be active. If you'd like proactive chat to work on all pages of your store, enter "http*://*". You can also configure more specific proactive chat messages and rules by clicking Add proactive chat configuration.)

Test Your Proactive Chat(In order to test your proactive chat, you must ensure that Live Chat is enabled under the Agents tab, at least one agent is online and available and Proactive Chat is enabled under the Proactive Chat tab.)

Enter the site URL for which you want to test proactive chat. Click Start the test. The results of your test will then display!